AAA reaffirms importance of recognizing Armenian Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Assembly of America reaffirmed the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide, highlighting the real dangers of its denial and recalling the consistent U.S. stance on the matter.

According to a press release by the Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a statement on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, presenting the dictionary definition of genocide, as former presidents had done.

It was noted that the April 24, 2025, statement did not imply any policy shift, as the U.S. legislative and judicial branches had long affirmed the historical facts, while Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden explicitly used the term "genocide" in their commemorative messages.

Executive Director Bryan Ardouny emphasized: «The U.S. position and policy regarding the Armenian Genocide are clear. We remain steadfast in working together to prevent a second genocide against the Armenian people, as Azerbaijan continues to threaten Armenia's security and 23 known Armenian hostages are unjustly held in Baku.» Ardouny also urged the administration to fulfill President Trump’s previous pledge to support Armenian Christians who were «horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh.»

The Assembly stated that the lack of an international response to genocides has historically encouraged authoritarian regimes. The ethnic cleansing in Artsakh and Azerbaijani torture practices were described as continuations of Young Turk policies. Adolf Hitler's infamous remark — «Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?» — was also cited as a warning preceding the Holocaust. A similar statement was attributed to Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev, boasting, «We are driving them out like dogs.»

The Assembly reiterated that the denial of the Armenian Genocide has consequences equivalent to Holocaust denial, antisemitism, and other forms of racism. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau’s reports, describing the events as a «campaign of race extermination,» serve as key evidence. Morgenthau stressed, «The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant compared to the sufferings of the Armenian nation in 1915.»

In May 1915, the Allied Powers first accused a government of «crimes against humanity and civilization.» By 1916, the U.S. Senate had passed a resolution urging President Woodrow Wilson to designate a day for fundraising in aid of Armenians.

Major General James Harbord, leader of the U.S. mission during World War I, recorded in his report: «Mutilation, torture, and death left haunting memories across hundreds of beautiful Armenian valleys, and travelers in the region rarely escape reminders of this greatest crime of all ages.»

President Woodrow Wilson remarked that American sympathy for Armenians stemmed from «an unblemished conscience» and «pure Christian faith,» highlighting that the desire to help Armenians was a universal concern among Christians.

Thanks to the efforts of Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term "genocide" with reference to the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948. In 1951, the United States, in a written submission to the International Court of Justice, specifically referenced the mass exterminations of Armenians, Jews, and Poles as classic examples of genocide.

In 1993, a U.S. appellate court confirmed that the United States had consistently recognized the Armenian Genocide, rejecting claims of ambiguity.

Ronald Reagan was the first U.S. President to officially use the term "genocide" to describe the crimes against Armenians during his April 22, 1981, Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation: «Like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it, and like too many other persecutions of too many other peoples, the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.»

Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama also commemorated the Armenian Genocide, with Obama using the term "Meds Yeghern" (Great Crime). President Joe Biden has directly referenced the Armenian Genocide every year during his presidency.

During Trump's first term, in 2019, the House of Representatives passed Resolution H.Res.296 recognizing the Armenian Genocide by a vote of 405 to 11, and the Senate unanimously adopted a companion resolution. Moreover, all 50 U.S. states have recognized the Armenian Genocide through resolutions and proclamations.

The Armenian Assembly of America, marking the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Armenian people’s security and peace.

President Trump’s statement read: «Today, we remember the Meds Yeghern and honor the memory of those lost… Beginning in 1915, in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, one and a half million Armenians were deported, marched to their deaths... As we honor the memory of the victims, my administration remains committed to promoting religious freedom and protecting vulnerable minorities.»